For Your Eyes Only
by Fonbella
Summary: The more Social Links, the more power he had. That's what Minato believed. Ryoji/Minato; Complete. Written for the Persona kink meme.


**AN:** I wrote this some time ago for the Persona kink meme, Shirakawa Boulevard. The prompt was:

_OK GUYS. Thread-hijacking discussion on the last page made me realize how much I want this. This prompt is for Minato social links with the male members of the party, if they existed, what would happen? Akihiko, Shinjiro, Ken, Junpei and Koro-chan all missed out on getting to know Minato more personally. __Pick any of them. Multiple fills hugely encouraged. :3_

I liked the request, so I decided to give Ryoji a try. I hope you like reading this just as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you do, please drop by a review. I'll be happy to read it. Critiques are always welcome too.

"Are you alright? You suddenly spaced out there."

Minato continued to glare at him while he called an attendant and asked for another of their traditional pheromone coffee, not forgetting to hit on her before.

"I'm sorry, I have to go now. Promised I'd help Ken to study" Minato said while getting up.

"That's alright." Despite not knowing who this Ken was, Ryoji simply smiled and suppressed the thought of studying together with Minato. "I'll see you tomorrow at school then. Do you mind if we eat lunch together? I'll make sure to prepare something tasty for you."

The blue-haired boy suppressed a sigh as he felt his heart get warm in a familiar way – another one of those so called social links Igor wouldn't stop talking about had formed. Well, he could spare a few afternoons hanging out with the Don Juan wannabe, maybe.

-

It had started raining at the dorm and Junpei wouldn't stop complaining about how his hot-babe-hunt afternoon with Ryoji had been cancelled due to it. Ryoji, who had come to the dorm to pick him up, was now stuck with the rest of the SEES members thanks to it. Minato noticed neither Akihiko nor Mitsuro were present so that meant no Tartarus tonight anyway. Could his night get any worse?

"Hey Minato" Ryoji called out to him while he was going up the stairs. "What are you doing? I hope I'm not getting in the way of your studying. Do you mind if I go to your room? I need a place to stay tonight."

"Hey man, don't sweat it." Junpei tapped his shoulder, never ending smile on his face. "You can stay in my room if you want." Minato thanked him mentally for suggesting it.

"Okay then, I'll come to your room later. I need to ask him to help me with my homework first. Glad I brought my bag." And with that, the boy with a mole under his eye quickly caught up with Minato at the stairs. Not sure how to decline Ryoji's self-invitation to _his _room, he simply guided him to the last door in the second floor.

Minato realized it was going to be a long night when Ryoji fell asleep on the floor, head on his bed, right after they finished their homework. Closing a book and sighing, he got up and went to the third floor, grabbing the mattress of a vacant room. After accommodating Ryoji in it beside his bed, he quickly withdrew to his own bed, calling it a night.

-

During the trip to Kyoto, Minato mentally slapped himself in the forehead for getting so absorbed into his conversation with Ryoji that he didn't notice when they both got separated from the rest of the group.

"Well, since we're not with the group anymore, would you like to come with me to the shrine? I know it doesn't sound exciting but there's something I need to do there. I promise it will be quick."

Minato shrugged and followed him, just as he always did.

It wasn't very far away actually and he knew the path down the forest just outside the shrine, they could go back to the hotel from there.

As Ryoji clapped his hand twice and joined them in a request, Minato couldn't avoid staring. It wasn't the first time this had happened and that scared him. Despite the fact that he always told himself not to get too involved with the people he formed a social link with, there were a few exceptions. Mostly were his friends from SEES, and perhaps Maiko because she was just too darn cute to ignore. Or maybe he just unconsciously wanted her to get along with her parents again because he had none. The thing is, he was getting involved with Ryoji, more than he wanted to. Most people he had formed a social link with were just that – more power for him and his personas. He was always genuinely happy to help them, but he had more important stuff to take care of than being best friends with half the city, like exterminating shadows and making up excuses to run away from Fuuka's cooking. However, as much as he hated to admit, he honestly started to pay attention to what Ryoji had to say. He honestly started liking to hang out with him and he honestly didn't mind when he showed up at the dorm to ask for help with homework.

He honestly didn't mind Ryoji and it always surprised him when it happened to his social links.

As Ryoji finished, he prepared to get back, but stopped when noticed Ryoji wouldn't move.

"Haha sorry, I just had to wish it. We can go back now." Ryoji giggled a bit and started walking beside him. He had to suppress the urge to ask him what he had wished for.

-

It wasn't often that this happened, but once in a while Minato would wake up at night during the dark hour. Most of the times it meant Pharos was present, but tonight wasn't such night. The only person in his room was Ryoji. Or at least he was supposed to be there. Using his elbow for support, Minato scanned the hotel room for him. They ended up talking the whole night (rather, Ryoji talked and he listened) and he ended up falling asleep there instead of going back to his room – this was becoming a bad habit of his. However, there were no signs of the boy.

Perhaps he had gone back to his room, he thought. Yeah, that had to be it. Laying down again and trying to fall asleep, he remembered it wouldn't matter if Ryoji was here during the dark hour or not, because he would have been transmogrified anyway. He had to wonder though, what if Ryoji could be active during the dark hour like Ikutsuki. It was a nice thought.

Before he really disliked the idea of Ryoji living up in the dorm but now he wouldn't mind it. The more help he had to fight the shadows the better after all. Maybe Ryoji would even waken up to a Persona like the rest of the SEES. Maybe they could battle together. What an amusing thought. Like Ryoji even knew the dark hour existed. He had to stop daydreaming. They had already defeated all the big shadows, now he just had to concentrate on how to end the dark hour and Tartarus.

When he woke up the next day, he had to wonder what the hell Ryoji was doing sleeping in the same futon as his. He could swear he had woken up during the dark hour and that Ryoji was nowhere to be seen, leading him to believe he had gone back to his assigned room. Was it a dream?

Ignoring the weird feeling inside him, he gently poked Ryoji with his elbow.

"Go to your room already, I don't want anyone coming in and having weird ideas." Ryoji mumbled something and turned around under the covers, going back to sleep some more.

-

It was only two days until the next full moon, Minato wanted to go back to the dorm and save his strength for the next days, but as usual, his plans were thrown out of the window when Ryoji called him to the rooftop after the bell signalizing the end of the day rang.

They stood there watching the city move on its own and the clouds pass by for a few minutes before any of them spoke up. At any other time, with any other person, Minato would have find this annoying and would probably have gone back to the dorm already, but annoying was actually the fact that he _didn't mind_.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you waste time with me, I just…" He looked down at the moonlight bridge and slipped his fingers through the fence, grabbing it. "For some reason I wanted to spend some time with you."

"I'm sure Junpei would have been a better companion than me."

Ryoji laughed and Minato looked in his direction, trying to get the joke. He didn't. "I know, right? I thought so too. But… I wanted to be with you. I don't know why." Ryoji looked back at him and their eyes locked for the first time in a very long time. "Remember when I said I felt I had seen you before somehow? That you were familiar to me? Well, I think it has to do with it." They looked back down at the city. "Do you think maybe we met in the past life?"

"I don't know."

"Maybe that was it. Maybe we were best friends here in this school. Wouldn't it be fun if that had actually happened?" He could hear the smile in Ryoji's voice. "I bet we were. I don't think I'd be feeling like this if we weren't. Hey, maybe you were a girl in the past life and you declared you love for me up here."

Minato looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. Ryoji laughed it off and stared back. "I mean, I don't think I'd feel like this if something had never happened between us. Although I think I would've liked you whether you were a boy or a girl anyway."

Minato sighed, but stayed by Ryoji's side regardless, until he was satisfied. In the end, Ryoji thanked him and apologized with the same smile as ever about the weird things he had said and for making him feel uncomfortable around him. Both were surprised when Minato replied "If we did meet before, than you were the girl who confessed to me."

Ryoji laughed happily. "Yeah, probably."

-

By the New Year's Eve, Minato wasn't so surprised anymore about everything that had happened during the past month. Ryoji now stands in front of him as Thanatos, and he thought back about the Kyoto trip while he waited for his final answer. During that Dark Hour, Ryoji was still in his room. He couldn't see him though, because Ryoji was a shadow, a persona, he was Thanatos. Had he summoned Thanatos then, would Ryoji remember anything the day after, or feel weird? Would he have laughed it off and say he had the weirdest dream? So many thoughts running through his mind and the shadow patiently waited in front of him for an answer. Minato swallowed. He hadn't fused Thanatos yet with Igor anyway so thinking about it was in vain.

"You have my answer already. I'm not a murderer and I'm not about to become one just because the end of the world is coming. Say that to your so beloved Nyx."

Sarcastic as ever, Ryoji thought while he transformed back to his well known personification.

"I understand. It's regrettable but it's your life… You can do what you want with it. I'll respect your decision." Ryoji started walking towards the door. As he passed by Minato's side, he felt a hand grab his wrist. He looked down and then up at his face. Minato was staring at him.

"That was your shadow form, right?" He continued as Ryoji gave him a confused look but nodded nonetheless. "You lived inside me for ten years, am I correct? So you are part of me. You're one of my personas." There was a pause in which Ryoji still tried to understand where he wanted to go with this. Minato asked himself the same thing, but grasping his wrist more firmly, he was sure. "If I can somehow summon you in battle, will you fight with me?"

There was a moment of silence. Minato could very well just go to Igor and use Thanatos already, but for some reason he wanted to know, wanted to hear Ryoji say he was okay with it. It was unusual of him to care so deeply for others. He blamed it on his stupid inability of avoid certain social links. Just like Yukari, Fuuka and Mitsuro… It started out as social links for the sake of making stronger personas, but halfway through it turned into actual friendship. It wasn't something he had control over and it pissed him off because it would only cause him trouble when Mitsuro was about to fall in battle and he'd risk his own life to protect her instead of using the opportunity to finish off the enemy. Or when he started _liking_ eating Fuuka's food during lunch or dinner. No matter how many times Igor told him it would make him stronger, he could only see the flaws when battle came and he made stupid moves to protect those dear to him rather than taking the offensive. It only proved he was human and that nothing would ever change it, because being human meant not being perfect, and if he wasn't perfect, he wouldn't be able to protect them in the first place. It was a stupid cycle that kept running in his head and wouldn't let him go.

He couldn't avoid feeling like this. He couldn't avoid caring for them or for Ryoji. He couldn't avoid being stupid, weak and emotional and enjoying every minute of it just as much as he hated it.

Slowly Ryoji's confused look softened and gave place to his usual smile. "I'd love to be summoned by you. Nothing would make me happier than aiding you when you need me." He pulled his hand out of Minato's grip and reversed it, by grabbing his hand now. "Don't ever hesitate or think that I wouldn't be happy by your side. In the ten years I was inside you, you shaped Death into the man I am now. If anything, I owe you for creating ten years of memories for me."

Unsure, Minato stepped back when Ryoji's hands reached to his face, but Ryoji followed stepping ahead and grabbing him between his hands. "This is the last time I'll be able to talk to you like this. Please let me make one final memory out of this." Ryoji's face got dangerously close but Minato didn't move. Not because he was scared of what was to come, but because he didn't mind. "Stop me anytime though" were Ryoji's last words before closing his eyes and the distance between their lips.

Minato did not move his body, did not shake, flinch, or wasn't taken aback by surprise. He did not close his eyes – which he intently focused on Ryoji's moving lips – nor did he kiss back. He didn't move his lips or tongue _at all_, he only let Ryoji do whatever he wanted with him, like opening his mouth with his and slipping a wet tongue between his teeth. He should probably make it a better moment for Ryoji, but he couldn't bring himself to. It was Ryoji's moment, not his. He cursed himself because the one moment he needed those damned week feelings that tormented him during the final stages of his social link to take control of him again and make it worthy for Ryoji, he was back to being his usual cold self.

After a moment of struggling to get any response out of Minato, Ryoji pulled back slowly, kissing his lips twice before finally opening his eyes. He didn't mind that Minato didn't respond, in his eyes it was enough that he let him _do_ it in the first place. Right now he was the happiest he could ever be.

Ryoji let go of Minato's face and slowly licked his lips, tasting whatever was left there. "Let's go back to the lounge, I have to tell you guys how to defeat Nyx."


End file.
